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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26662144">Vulnerable</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/starlightmesss/pseuds/starlightmesss'>starlightmesss</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Melancholic Omens [11]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Good Omens (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alcohol, Angst, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Kissing, M/M, Making Out, Teasing, it's not very graphic but I rated T to be sure</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 11:35:19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,334</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26662144</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/starlightmesss/pseuds/starlightmesss</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Raphael and Zira have started seeing each other again, but some wounds aren't so easy to heal</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Melancholic Omens [11]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1568305</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>25</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Vulnerable</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>LONDON. 1923.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was a quite boring party. For Raphael, anyway. All the humans there seemed to be having the time of their lives, but the archangel had seen better. Apart from that, he felt like something was off, though he couldn’t quite understand what it was until he saw it and his stomach dropped.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The demon usually wouldn’t have bothered Raphael. Actually, he was always the face the archangel was relieved to see among the others, but in those years their relationship had shifted. They still cared for each other just as much as usual, mind you, and they had started seeing each other again over a decade before, but there was always this uneasy feeling between them. Aside from that, it didn’t help the situation the fact that he was definitely flirting with the man standing next to him. Subtle enough for everybody around not to notice, everybody except Raphael, who had known him for millennia and had also seen his flirting up close. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Zira looked up from his drink and saw him. Raphael looked away, but could tell he was excusing himself from the conversation with the group of people around him and walking towards him. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Long time no see,” said Zira, walking around him, placing his empty glass on the table next to them and picking up a new one. He had a happy tone in his voice, which almost made Raphael feel better. Almost.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Just a couple of years,” he replied, avoiding his gaze. He shouldn’t have been this cold and he knew it. What right did he have to be mad at him when ending their relationship had been his idea? He could still vividly remember Zira’s expression that day. And yet there he was now, with some person he probably hadn’t known for more than an hour. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Zira didn’t seem to buy it, because he also had known the archangel for millenia. “Are you alright?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Perfectly fine.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You don’t seem fine.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m just trying to focus on doing my job, nothing else.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, come on, I know you better than that. Since when do you care about your job so much, anyway?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t you have a job to do here, too, anyway?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Zira looked over Raphael’s shoulder, back at the man he was talking to a minute earlier. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Ah, right.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Or maybe you’re just here with your... </span>
  <em>
    <span>friend</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>That caught the demon’s attention again, given by the glare it got out of him. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Tell me this isn’t about that, Raphael.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“About what?” He definitely didn’t want to have that conversation there and then. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Tell me you’re not being jealous.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Definitely didn’t want to have that conversation. “I’m actually done with my job here, so I’m going to leave now,” he said, placed down his own glass and walked past the demon, heading for the exit. But then he heard him mutter something under his breath. Something that sounded an awful lot like ‘Yes, because that’s something you know how to do very well.’ Raphael stopped and faced Zira, finally looking at him in the eyes.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Excuse me?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You heard me. It was your idea, wasn’t it? You don’t get to be mad at me for getting over it.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Over it.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Right… apparently, it was very easy for you.” This time he didn’t stop on his way out and he was already quite far from the crowd outside when he heard Zira calling for him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Didn’t you say I’m good at leaving? Let me do it.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Raphael, wait, please.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The archangel closed his eyes and took a deep breath. </span>
  <em>
    <span>What am I doing?</span>
  </em>
  <span> He turned around to look at Zira, arms crossed. “I’m sorry.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He looked taken by surprise. “What?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sorry!” Raphael’s voice threatened to break. “I’m sorry, I have no right being mad at you for something like that, but it hurt! How would you feel if I had moved on already and you hadn’t-”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I haven’t,” the demon interrupted him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Now it was Raphael being taken by surprise. Zira continued, “the man I was talking to? He was my job at the party. Hell told me to flirt with him as it was the easiest way to get what they wanted.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>After a second, Raphael murmored, “oh.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I shouldn’t have said those things, Raphael. And I shouldn’t have made you believe there was something between him and I. I’m just- I’m still hurting too and I miss you, and-” he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, “I’m sorry.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They both stood there for a few seconds, then Zira spoke again. “Want to get out of here?” he asked, smiling.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Raphael scoffed, smiling too, “I already was.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I meant, with me?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Raphael hesitated, returning serious. “I don’t know, Zira…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Then the demon produced a bottle of wine from his coat, one that suspiciously looked like the ones at the party. Then winked.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Raphael chuckled. “Okay, let’s go.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>On their way to Raphael’s house, they talked lightly and opened the wine, passing it to each other, and when they arrived at their destination, the bottle was almost empty. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you sure they’re not following us or anything?” asked the archangel, closing the door to his apartment behind him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No, we’re fine,” Zira answered, sitting on the couch, offering the bottle to Raphael when he sat next to him. Raphael took it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Didn’t you say they wanted to keep an eye on you? That they don’t trust you as much as they used to?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“They’re lazy enough to have stopped already.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“So they really bought the </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘I was just tempting an archangel’</span>
  </em>
  <span> excuse?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah,” the demon chuckled and grabbed the bottle the archangel passed him and took a sip, “what about Upstairs?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“They’re arrogant enough to think their threats will do the job.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, aren’t they?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Raphael took the bottle and drank, “am I not sitting here drinking wine with you?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re barely even looking at me, Raphael.” He drank the last bit of wine left and placed the bottle on the floor.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was true. He was still wearing his glasses, too. Every time he was with Zira he knew the demon could read him like an open book and he didn’t want to feel vulnerable. In that moment he realized how much he hated feeling like he couldn’t be clear with him anymore. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The archangel sighed, then looked at him and took off his glasses, smiling weakly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Zira was looking at him fondly. “You’re very handsome tonight.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Raphael scoffed and looked down at his suit. “It’s nothing special.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“But </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>are.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The archangel burst out laughing, and tried to hide the blush. “Shut up!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Why?” Zira had a tone of playfulness in his voice, “worried I’ll tempt you?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Aren’t you always?” Raphael teased back.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“True. Let me reformulate the question, then. Worried I’ll succeed at tempting you?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The archangel smiled, with a point of melancholia. “Aren’t you always?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Not really, no. Not lately, anyway.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They looked at each other for a few seconds, then, Raphael couldn’t exactly tell when that happened, they leaned in and they were kissing. It had been over a hundred years but it was so natural that it felt like they had been doing it everyday in the course of the last thousands of years. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>After some minutes Raphael found himself lying on the couch and realization struck him. “Zira- Zira wait-” he gently pushed the demon away and they both sat up. The archangel sighed and rubbed a hand on his face. “No.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He heard Zira sigh too. “No,” he agreed. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They could have blamed it on the wine but they both knew it wasn’t it. “Right,” the demon said and stood up. “I should probably leave.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Raphael looked up and blurted out “I’m sorry,” but the demon smiled at him. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t be, absolutely.” And kissed his forehead so softly that Raphael almost teared up. “I’ll, uh- I’ll see you around.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe not letting a couple of years pass this time.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Zira smiled. “Of course not. Bye, Raphael.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Bye, Zira.”</span>
</p>
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